IGDB (Ningbo International Poster Biennial) was first established in 1999, and has been held successfully for five times. Henceforth IGDB has established its reputation, influence and assertion in the world, and become the symbol of the internationalization of the Chinese graphic design. IGDB aims to represent and promote thoughts and expressions of pioneering designers worldwide, also to explore the new current for design and social development.

After the significant transformation of media and communication, the boundaries between different design disciplines blur gradually, and graphic design today have exceeded its original form. This year, IGDB6's theme is Critical Graphic Design. This nomination exhibition had invited designers and artists from all over the world, all of whom had significant performance and professional contribution to the field of graphic design and other related fields.

Critical graphic design is not merely a type of design, but as an attitude and moreover, a way of working.

Critical graphic design is a working attitude based on criticalness, it is also a form of thinking based on practicality.

With the rapidly transforming social form and contemporary design, what type of roles would designers play in today's complicated world?

Up till this day, the majority of graphic designers still focus their concerns solely on the demand and expectation of the mass in the mass market. What we have developed have been for the "perfect" society, avoiding the hidden darkness of the reality in daily life . However we know that reality is not as delightful as what it seems to be. Today, graphic design is gradually losing its values.

We hope that, graphic design, either seemed as a language or an activity, its aim would not only be to solve the problem of commissions, nor would it be to get a seemingly attractive work. Instead, we should try to discuss social phenomenon, to tell stories, to present views hidden from everyone else, and to express the thoughts of individuals and human being as a whole. Graphic design should change the scenes, interfere with events, and narrate our time. This kind of doubt against original conditions of usage for design is the critical attitude that is required.

On the other hand, because we are used to living in a digital world, while communicating in the social network, the original boundaries of graphic design have become blurry, and the old edges of the field are becoming its new highlights, and new dimensions (for example, timeline) have become the base points of new development of design. The proportion of graphic designers that work in traditional printing field has decreased in recent years. This transition that originated from media transformation, information congestion, technological democracy and communication, is taking place at the moment. Therefore, the influence of technology on design methods has never been so important, and the attribute of interdisciplinarity has never been so imminent.

Our method is determined by our attitude! The enormous transformation of graphic design today will inevitably produce new methods. Under the current trend, even the design work in traditional printing is potentially a brand new medium. Yesterday's graphic designers have become today's informational architects, imagery creators, visual musicians, popular culturists, public artists, programming artists, events curators, imagery critics, media undertakers, visual writers, social designers, and even ¡ª information scientist.

Here, we call for all the new designs originated from the critical attitude and new methods!

Under the theme of "Critical Graphic Design", the Biennial specially hosts the Graphic Interactive Exhibition, which is based on critical opinion and interactive communication and discussion. The Interactive Exhibition aims to advocate more professional thoughts and discussions, through presenting critical text about graphic design, to inspire new trends and advancements of graphic design.

We would like to invite designers and artists, who had significant professional performance and academic thoughts, to participate in the exhibition. It would advocate thoughts, critiques and explorations on the current scene of graphic design, future of graphic design, meaning of graphic design, possibilities of graphic design, education of graphic design and interdisciplinary interaction of design in general.

The exhibition would consist of two parts: commentated multimedia presentation and printed posters based on professional opinions, to express each of their academic views. The posters would contain the refined academic views of the individual. It would represent itself as declarations with the help of the unique visual language of graphic design. Participants will reduce the posters fit on A4 leaflets, which includes their personal contact information. The leaflets would be handed out to the audience, to receive wider commentary, discussion and interaction.

During IGDB6, the committee would like to invite five participating designers and artists as guest speakers. These speakers will express their opinions on graphic design practice and thoughts, and the exploration of the research frontier. Their varied academic opinions would meet in the biennial, forming the keynote idea for IGDB 6.